Cult 101: In Bruges (2008)
Director: Martin McDonagh Run Time: 107 min. Rating: R Release Year: 2008
Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Clémence Poésy, Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes, Thekla Reuten
Country: United Kingdom, United States
Language: English
Presented as part of the 2023 edition of Cult 101.
About the film:
Before Banshees of Inisherin (2022), Martin McDonagh teamed up with actors Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson on In Bruges (2008), selected as the opening night film of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, winner of the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Bruges, the most well-preserved medieval city in the whole of Belgium, is a welcoming destination for travelers from all over the world. But for hit men Ray (Farrell) and Ken (Gleeson), it could be their final destination; a difficult job has resulted in the pair being ordered right before Christmas by their London boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) to go and cool their heels in the storybook Flemish city for a couple of weeks.
“Just when you think you’ve seen every possible variation on the hit-man genre, Irish playwright Martin McDonagh in his feature debut has fashioned an audacious combination of Old World grace and modern ultraviolence”
—James Greenberg, The Hollywood Reporter
About the filmmaker:
Martin McDonagh is an acclaimed British-Irish playwright, screenwriter, producer, and director. His plays have played in the West End, on Broadway, and in over 40 countries. He received four Tony Award nominations and won an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy for The Lieutenant of Inishmore, and two Olivier Awards for Best New Play for The Pillowman and Hangmen. In film, he wrote and directed his debut feature In Bruges (2008), Seven Psychopaths (2012), the highly acclaimed Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), which won Best Screenplay at the 2022 Venice Film Festival and received nine nominations at the 95th Academy Awards. McDonagh won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for Six Shooter in 2004.
See our upcoming films